Coups, “smart coups” and elections: Right power strategies in a context of Left hegemony
Mots-clés :
Latin America, Right, Threat, Strategies, Smart CoupsRésumé
Most analyses of Right-wing power strategies in Latin America highlight the relative paucity of dedicated Right-wing political parties, and the preponderance of non-electoral strategies. Despite this such studies continue to privilege the electoral over other strategies. This paper presents a more wide-ranging, comprehensive perspective based on political sociology and political psychology theories. Here strategies are categorised at three levels – electoral, extra- electoral and semi- or extra-constitutional - which can be activated in a multi-layered manner, depending on the level of threat perceived to Right objectives and on conditions on the ground. Using the case study of the removal of Dilma Rousseff from the presidency in Brazil in 2016, the article seeks to illustrate the ultimate aim of achieving a “smart coup”, whereby left governments are forced out of office with relatively little bloodshed and an element of popular and institutional legitimacy. In this way the Latin American Right aims to integrate electoral and non-electoral strategies to the democratic context of Left hegemony in the region.
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